Gunn's 24-hour hopes ended by wheel hub failure in Florida

(L-R) Simon Pagenaud, Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist and Helio Castroneves, drivers of The #60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 celebrate in victory lane after winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 29, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

The number 23 car, that was in contention for victory in the leading GT class of the famous American race, was forced to return to the pits for a lengthy stop to allow repairs to be made. Once work had been carried out by the Heart of Racing team, the Aston Martin was able to return to the action - but enough time had been lost to rule out any chances of victory.

The mechanical failure, the first of its kind ever experienced by the team on the GT3 specification Aston Martin, came as a major disappointment to Gunn and his team-mates, Alex Riberas and David Pittard. Gunn started the race for the team, and the trio of drivers enjoyed a spell in the lead of the GTD Pro class prior to the issue that effectively ended their challenge - finally finishing 36th overall, and seventh in class.

"This was not the result we wanted," Gunn said afterwards. "We started the race full of hopes and the car was going well and we were in contention to win. Sadly things happen like this, and although very rare, we lost enough time to not be able to make up the difference before the end of the race."

Overall the 24 Hours of Daytona was won by the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, with the number 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Roman De Angelis, Marco Sorensen, Darren Turner and Ian James claiming GTD (GT3) class victory.

Gunn added: "We weren't able to win our class, but it was great for the team to score victory in GTD with the number 27 Aston Martin. It was a great result for the team and brand, and we look forward to the next IMSA racing at Sebring in March."

*It has been confirmed that Gunn will represent Aston Martin in the Asian Le Mans Series, which starts on February 11th in Dubai. The Vale-based racer will drive a TF Sport-entered Aston Martin alongside David Pun and Adrian D'Silva, saying, “I am excited to race in the Asian Le Mans Series. It is great to be back with TF Sport, I have raced a lot with them over the years and I am happy to have this opportunity."